Just as deadly
by Science and Food
Summary: Seven Sins: Superbia, Avaritia, Luxuria, Ira, Gula, Invidia, Acedia, and one that might not be a sin, but is just as deadly. L/J oneshot. Not too dark, I promise.


**A/N: I don't own HP. The rest is self-explanatory. Enjoy!**

**Ira (Wrath):**

He is bleeding profusely from a head wound. His eyes are bloodshot and red rimmed, his robes torn in so many places, he looks like he is barely being covered by rags. He is standing slightly in front of her, wand out. The people around them (make no mistake, they are surrounded) are all jeering at him, as his eyes search wildly for an escape route. There is none.

Lily is panicking.

So far, she has let him handle the fighting. She is ashamed, but she is terrified. She's never faced anyone like this before. She's never really dueled, except inside a classroom, and no one taught her to anticipate the feeling of terror: the heart pounding and blood rushing that, far from stimulating her, inundates and immobilizes her. James, who has dueled a number of times before, shoved her behind him as he battled five death eaters fiercely, single-handedly, ignoring every cut thrown at him.

But now two more have joined, and James is panicking because he knows he can't hold seven by himself.

And although she is terrified, one more look at James convinces her to drag him back and place herself in front of him. He shoves her off, pushing her behind him, halting her attempt.

"_Don't you understand?" _he hisses. "They won't kill me, but they wouldn't give a damn if they killed you."

The Death Eaters around him are laughing now. The one in the center pulls down his hood, and it takes all the power Lily has not to scream.

It is Lord Voldemort.

His eyes are ruby red and slits . His face is skeletal and paler than hers, if that is possible. His snake-like nostrils flare, and he wears a mocking smile.

"Don't be foolish, James Potter. Descendant of the Peverals aside, I don't forgive those who refuse to join my service." His voice is high and cold.

"I'd die first." James says. Lily wants to scream in terror when he says this.

"Death might be painless, for all I know. No, I want you to feel some pain first, boy. _Crucio!"_

James falls to the ground screaming and now Lily is yelling as well, throwing herself over James's writhing form, as if she can protect him. Voldemort has not let him go from under the spell, and the Death Eaters around him are shrieking and guffawing with laughter, and now Lily notices...

Her vision is clouding, not with a bloodless black, but with a furious, fiery red. Rage, as she has never felt it before overcomes her.

_HOW DARE HE? How DARE THEY?_

Lily is not conscious of what she does really, is only conscious that she raised her wand in a wild, savage, wrathful slash. A sound somewhere between a scream and a snarl is torn from her lips. An instant later, the seven people surrounding them are on the ground, writhing under bright red flames, and James is staring up at her from the floor as if he has never seen her before.

_VROOM._

Sirius Black lands a flying motorcycle in front of them with a thud, and Lily can honestly say she has never been happier to see him.

"Get on, Lily!" he says, but getting down himself to grab a shaking, weak James, and heave him onto the bike in front of her. He scrambles in front of James, and they kick off, just as their seven attackers are beginning to recover from the attack of flames.

Lily is stroking James's hair from his face as they fly higher and higher.

"Are you alright?" she asks softly.

"Yeah…Lily, what did you do back there?" he asks, looking rattled.

She shrugs, but feels a little uncomfortable. While attempting to tend to James's wounds with one hand, the other clinging to him for dear life (she isn't fond of flying), she replies, "I was just…so angry. I couldn't stand watching him torture you…and I don't know. My vision went red, and next thing I know, they were bowing down on the ground. "

"That explains it," Sirius says conversationally. He is concentrating on driving in a way that Lily is sure means he is determinedly not looking at her. "Well, you used some powerful Dark Magic, but you didn't intend to, and it probably saved the both of you, so no harm done, right?"

Lily is stricken.

**Gula (Gluttony):**

It's the first fight they've ever had.

Even as he thinks the statement, James snorts with derision, cramming a chocolate éclair into his mouth.

He swallows this, and follows it with a cream puff. Followed by a slice of apple pie. And then, another slice. A glass of pumpkin juice. Leftover loaves of bread. He compliments the house elves on all the food he devours, and they, beaming, bring him more and more food. He smiles at them, sits on the floor, and devours the food like a starved baby.

Alright, it's their first fight as a couple.

"_Where do you go, every night when it's a full moon?"_

_He doesn't respond._

_"It has something to do with Remus, doesn't it? James, even you can't be stupid enough to sit with a full-fledged, transformed werewolf, right?"_

"_Lily, I can handle myself, and __I don't want to talk about it."_

"_If that's even close to what you're doing…is it?"_

_He is aching to say no, of course not. But then he remembers their first date. The three rules a guy must remember when dating Lily Evans. Rule number 1: Do not, under any circumstances, cheat on Lily Evans. Number 2: Do not, under any circumstances, lie to Lily Evans (unless you are lying to her about her birthday present and such). Number 3: Do not answer if Lily Evans asks you if she looks fat, in the affirmative. Ever. Even if you must violate rule number 2._

"_Lily, I can't answer, alright?" She looks like she is about to argue, or follow him if she has to. In desperation, he says. "I'm sorry…but it's none of your business."_

They haven't talked for five appallingly horrible days. At the thought he asks the house elf nearest him if there is anything chocolate filled in the kitchen. The beaming house elf drops what she is doing and rushes to fetch him a chocolate gateau. He smiles, reminded of his house-elf at home.

His stomach, at this point, feels as if it will burst out of his pajamas. But he can't get himself to stop masticating, the one automated motion that seems to be making him feel slightly better.

His mouth bursts with flavor as he shovels the gateau into his mouth, savoring the way it drops in his mouth and down his throat, losing himself, if only for a while, in this food-induced heaven.

The portrait to the kitchens bursts open, and Lily Evans, in a purple dressing gown walks in.

James freezes, gateau still in his mouth.

Lily spots him, and freezes as well.

They stare at each other.

"Would the Miss like anything?" A house elf pauses in front of Lily, beaming.

She smiles down at her.

"Er…well," she glances at James. "Do you have any apple pie?" As the beaming house elf runs to fetch her some, Lily walks over and sits beside James. Neither of them says anything.

"Here you are, miss!" the elf brings the pie, which is missing two slices. Lily helps herself to one, and eats it enthusiastically, apparently enjoying the sensation of chewing as much as James had just done. And then, she has another. And then, another. And then still, another. James watches her eating the third slice for a second, before going back to his gateau.

Lily asks the house-elf for some treacle tart, and some hot chocolate as well.

Finally the pair of them are sitting, side by side, quite about to burst from an overdose of food, when Lily seems to crack in a different way.

"I'm sorry for prying," she says. "And I don't want to fight anymore."

The empty plate in James's hand goes flying, and the house elves look mildly startled as James grabs Lily's face and kisses her like he has never done it before, as if he's eating her face off. And he can't help thinking that this is the sweetest kiss he's ever had, the sweetest thing in the world, sweeter than anything he's ever tasted. When she sighs and wraps her arms around him, he knows she agrees.

**Acedia (Sloth):**

Lily is staring at her pregnant belly.

She is wearing floating navy blue robes, and noting how much more comfortable a witch's pregnancy clothes are than the Muggle ones she saw her sister wearing.

She stretches and sighs. Perhaps too comfortable. She is so comfortable that she doesn't want to move. Doesn't want to do anything, really, except stare at the baby sitting in her belly.

The baby gives a kick. She smiles.

_He's definitely taking after James._

She sits on the reclining sofa in their home, and for lack of anything better to do, turns on the Wizarding Wireless Network with a wave of her wand. She hums along to some tunes.

Time passes.

It's been hours, and she hasn't moved (except to go devour large amounts of food, that she's sure she will regret when she hurls later). Lethargy has long since overcome her, and the ache in her bones simply won't let her do anything today. She knows she should be worrying about the Order meeting she has later tonight, about the chores she has to do around the house before James comes home. And speaking of James…she should be worried about what he is doing as she sits here, doing nothing, but with her lower back throbbing, her bones aching, and her mind somewhat numb, she can't bring herself to think about anything.

She lifts a hand lazily, until it is above her head, and then stares up at it.

_Is this what a sloth feels like?_

Something is cantering into the room. Despite herself, Lily sits up as she sees James' glorious and wonderfully familiar stag Patronus materialize. It halts in front of her.

In his voice, she hears:_ Order managed to clear Elephant and Castle, everyone is alright. Coming home soon, can't wait._

Pregnant though she is, Lily springs into action, tidying up the house with a quick wave of her wand, and trying to arrange her hair in the mirror around her swollen face.

_I'm sure, _she thinks, _the sloth is much more agile when she has a mate as well._

**Invidia (Envy):**

He watches her from the back of the room. The cauldron in front of him is swirling with angry red fumes that should be a delicate shade of magenta by now, but he can't bring himself to care. He stares through the swirling mist and watches her.

Her dark red hair is falling down her back in swathes, which she keeps shoving back irritably in order to concentrate on her potion.

Rebelliously, it falls forward again, in front of her face, out of his line of sight.

She lets out a little scream of frustration, and unceremoniously yanks her fingers into her hair, combing the dark, heavy locks back until they fall down her back once again. James watches her pale fingers through the mass of red, and suddenly, feels overwhelmed with emotion.

His hand twitches over his porcupine quills, accidently dowsing his potion with one too many.

"James, mate, what is the matter with you?" says Sirius, as James's potion has suddenly turned a dull brown. "How could you screw up on a Hiccoughing Solution?"

"I can't focus," James replies, frustrated. Sirius looks at James, and then follows the line of his gaze. He sighs.

"Evans, again? Prongs, when are you going to get over her? "James doesn't respond. Sirius sighs, and says, "If you add Doxy droppings, you might be able to save it." He is referring to the Potion.

"Yeah, thanks," James replies. He gets up to get ingredients from the Potions cupboard. When he does, he walks past Lily's cauldron and can't help but turn to stare down at her. Her hair is falling down in front of her face again in curtain-like sheets. He pauses for a second, and is not disappointed. She shrieks grabs her hair in fistfuls and knots it messily, and rather futile-ly, on top of her head. It falls back down again in a second as she bends over to read her potions book. Absentmindedly, her fingers run through the locks.

The powerful feeling, rising up in his throat, takes over James. How desperately he wishes those hands running through those dark red locks so carelessly could be _his_ rather than her own pale fingers, caressing the darkness away from her face. His heart bursts with envy again when she sits up, and her hair falls around her face, caressing her high cheeks (now he envies her _hair_), a few strands in her starling green eyes that are staring past him at the board behind him.

Envy.

"How is your potion coming along, Mr. Potter?"

James jumps. "Fine, Professor," he grunts before scurrying back to his seat and collapsing.

"Pads," he begins.

"Yeah, Prongs?"

"I'm not over her."

**Superbia (Pride):**

Lily can't help it. She laughs when James struts in front of her, pushing his nonexistent hips from side to side in a perfectly exaggerated imitation of Bertha Jorkins.

"Potter, you are terrible. But you do have a surprisingly nice…hourglass figure. Makes the imitation of a woman a lot more plausible."

He throws her a nasty look over his shoulder and stops strutting at once. Lily laughs even harder, and to mollify him, strides up and lays a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm kidding," she laughs. He shoots her an exaggerated look of deep injury.

"You have a very…manly physique. Happy?"

"Well…how manly?"

"Extremely manly. All muscle." He looks mollified.

"Quidditch training, you know, it does wonders for the arms," he says, groping his own arm which is skinny, and on top of that not visible in the swathes of black material that make up his Hogwarts robes. Lily cannot stifle a giggle.

They walk again in a comfortable silence, before James says, in a casual voice, "So, Hogsmeade this weekend."

Lily slows, and is suddenly staring at her feet.

"Uh huh."

She thinks her reaction is enough to stop James from pursuing the subject, but apparently, it isn't.

"So, do you have plans?"

"Well," she says, now peering intently down the corridor, as if to check for wandering students, although no one is coming down the hall. "A few of my girlfriends and I were probably just going to hang out, I guess."

"Oh, I see."

"What about you?"

"Well, Sirius, Remus, Pete, and me probably aren't going." Lily looks at James.

"Oh?"

"Well, they say they've been too many times. It's only worth it if any of us is going with a girl, and since none of us is…" Now it's his turn not to look at her.

"Hmm…well, I think we're done with rounds for tonight." She says. He nods wordlessly and the silence is no longer comfortable. They make their way back to the Gryffindor common room, and head up the stairs. At the boy's dorm, without turning to look at her, he mutters goodnight and opens the door.

"James."

He turns back. "Yes?"

She stares at him. She knows he won't ask her, and she knows it's her turn. All she has to do is ask him, but…she can't bring herself to.

Her younger self swore she would always dislike him and that she would never go out with him. She watched him bully too many people, she watched him strut around the school, she watched him torment her childhood best friend for five years.

But when she looks at him now, she can't quite remember that James. The James she sees in front of her is taller- she has to look up into his eyes. Is it this angle that changed everything? From down here he doesn't look cocky at all. His eyes look uncertain behind his glasses, and they gleam beautifully, reflecting the last glows of the common room fire. She holds his gaze as she tells herself, _just do it, just do it. Swallow your pride. _

She can see Severus's look of disgust. She can see her younger self looking disapprovingly at her. She can see everyone's surprise; she can hear the whispers- _hypocrite, conquest. _She knows it is cowardly, she knows she shouldn't care, and she wants to swallow her pride. But she can't, tonight.

"Good night." She says finally. Emotion flashes in his eyes, but he quickly suppresses it and nods, and shuts the door in her face.

When she sees James sitting in the Three Broomsticks a few days later, a pretty and vivacious blond sixth year in front of him laughing at his jokes as he holds her hand, smiling, she wishes more than ever that she had no pride.

**Luxuria (Lust):**

Before James can ask Lily to marry him, he has to be sure that he isn't just caught up in a haze of lust. And with Lily Evans, it really is hard not to be swimming in an ocean of lust twenty four hours a day.

His mind whirls as he thinks about her _skin_, her _figure_ molded to a curvaceous perfection under her robes, and _her hair. _

And _how_ can anyone forget her lips? Or the muffled groan she emits when James accidentally-on-purpose sinks his teeth into her bottom lip? The number of times James has gone to sleep with that sound ringing in his head, thinking about other ways he _could_ make her sigh so erotically...only to wake up a few hours later and head for a _very _cold shower.

No, it's too easy to be caught in lust with Lily Evans.

It is just him and Remus in the room, since Sirius and Peter have snuck to the kitchens for some food. And though he would rather die than admit it, James is keen to ask Remus, over Sirius, for advice on girls; him best mate just doesn't seem to know a lot about the opposite sex.

"Remus?" he asks. Remus is sitting and staring at the ceiling above him, lost in thought.

"Hmm?"

"How do I know that…I don't just feel…you know, just lust for Lily?" Remus looks over at him, and James is surprised to see him smiling.

"Well, let me ask you something. What is your favorite thing about Lily?"

"Physically?"

"Sure."

He only thinks for a second.

"Her eyes or her smile."

Remus rolls his eyes, but he is still smiling.

"Since you didn't think about her… bosom or…you know…whatever else, first, I'd say you are pretty in beyond lust."

James stares at his friend, and then smiles at him.

"I want to ask her to marry me, Moony," he confides in a rush. Remus is still smiling, although his eyes are a little more serious now.

"I know you do, Prongs."

Smiling, James falls back onto his bed. A second later, he shoots up.

"Moony, you said _bosom!" _

His raucous peal of laughter doesn't subside until long after his other two friends have returned. Remus rolls his eyes, but still smiles.

**Avarita (Greed):**

Voldemort has a thirst for power that nothing seems to quench.

Lily Evans, in her own way is greedy for power as well.

But her thirst for power is different than Voldemort's, she convinces herself. She does not seek to rule or control everyone…

She seeks to have power over just one human being. Just one is all.

The more he tells her about himself, the more she looks eagerly for a way to keep him in her hands, to tie him to her somehow because she is power-hungry, and more than anything wants to control James Potter, make him completely hers and no one else's, his wishes be damned.

It's lucky for her, really, that James wants this as well.

His reactions to her when she flips her hair, when she smiles, when she laughs and holds his hands, when she steals a kiss all make her feel as powerful as the queen, and she wants more of him, more of this…

She wants to know all his secrets. He tells her some, but she is greedy and needs to hear more. She needs to see his face, more and more times a day, see his smile, kiss him, more times. More more more.

Is this what greed feels like?

Or is this love?

Love, Lily concedes, is not a sin, although perhaps it is just as deadly.

**A/N: Reviews are love as well =) I hope you liked, and thanks for reading!**


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